Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia

MOSCOW, February 11. /TASS/. The declaration that will be signed by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church in Cuba has been finally coordinated in the evening on February 10, the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk told reporters on Thursday.

"The text of the declaration was being coordinated by the sides until late last evening, latest amendements were made. Now we can hope that the coordinated version of the document will be presented at the meeting with the Pope," Metropolitan Hilarion said before taking off to Cuba as part of the Patriarch’s delegation. He noted that "changes to the text of the declaration are possible nevertheless."

Russian Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church are due to meet at Jose Marti International Airport in the Cuban capital of Havana on February 12. This will be the first meeting between the heads of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Preparations for the meeting have been underway for 20 years.